The Government is pondering again and this time there is an apparent will to buy a cargo ship. This seems like a dejavu where the Government of Samoa has come up with not very well thought of investment plans.

According to a news article which appeared in the Thursday 19 January 2023 edition of the Samoa Observer, the Government is considering a proposal to buy a cargo ship, which it hopes will absorb the high cost of freight by offering low rates and indirectly lead to a drop of food prices in local shops.

Speaking in the Parliament, Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure, Olo Fiti Vaai revealed plans to submit a proposal to the Cabinet to purchase a cargo ship following discussions within his sector and their findings.

Olo told Parliament the concerns raised by Members at the rising cost of living is attributed to the freight charges over the last three years charged by cargo companies.

He noted the cost of a 20 foot container went up from SAT$3,800 three years ago to SATD$7,150. As for the 40 foot container, the freight charges spiked from $9,000 to $13,000 and this contributes to the high cost of living, according to the Minister.

As noble as the intention of the minister is, this is in fact a very bad investment and the Government is looking at a Band-Aid solution for a problem we know how to deal with.

In 2012, the Government of Samoa acquired 100 per cent of the Pacific Forum Line and then a year later, sold 50 per cent of its shares and made Neptune Shipping the controlling partner. To date the PFL is in service.

Then why is there a need to buy a cargo ship? The minister in his noble intent talks about how low freight rates will bring prices of goods down in Samoa. Has the Government considered the operational cost of such a business, having employees and then purchasing the vessel itself?

A brand new cargo ship can cost anywhere from US$5 million to US$200 million, while a used cargo ship may cost between US$1 million and US$50 million. It’s important to keep in mind that these figures are just estimates, as the actual cost of a cargo ship will depend on the specific model and its features.

The Government actually has not had much of a success in running such businesses. Polynesian Airlines, Samoa Airways are good examples of how good investments have turned sour. There is no track record of accountability and transparency that have come from previous ventures to say that the taxpayers should be gambled again.

All Samoans know why we are paying such high food costs and it is because we have become so heavily reliant on imported foods, no one is growing their own vegetables, no one in the villages are going to fish and the government is only paying lip service to the agriculture industry.

Data collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (M.A.F.) shows that the contribution of the sector to Samoa's economic growth has been on the decline over the years.

The deteriorating state of the sector, which is often described as the "backbone" of the Samoan economy, was highlighted in the Ministry's Agriculture and Fisheries Sector Plan 2022/2023 to 2026/2027 report which was officially launched by the Government last week at the Taumeasina Island Resort.

The Government in its own report admits to this and yet money is going to be splashed on a cargo vessel, the same money that can be pumped back into the agriculture sector as loans to farmers or incentives to people who wish to start farms which have yields larger than two acres.

The Government can provide incentives to farmers to take up vegetable farming on commercial scales to replace the food that we are importing. There can be incentives to grow the poultry and livestock industry and even a small dairy industry.

The solution to the rising food prices is import substitution which can be done by improving on our agricultural outputs. Samoa has the weather and the soil, so please do not buy a cargo ship which down the years will start to bleed more money that it was supposed to be making.

 And even before we think about buying  a cargo ship, can we get the port fixed as we still have cargo ships queuing outside the harbor. Think twice, three times maybe even four but please do not buy a cargo ship.

Think of a long term solution and not an idea which will end up becoming a problem.